1992....arguably the greatest year for guitar amps in history?

[AdrianSD]

I don't know, I wouldn't consider the
Diezel VH4 and Bogner Ecstasy 100A/B to be "iconic" to anyone outside of the (relatively) small subset of metal guitar players. Wheras anyone with even a passing interest in guitar amps knows about the 5150 and a Dual Rec.

It's kind of like how the Fender Princeston and 6G15 are absolutely legendary in the surf community, but not really a big deal outside that circle.

The JCM900, released around the same time, is probably more "iconic" than the Diezel or the Bogner.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I would say the 900 is more "infamous" than "iconic", personally.

 

[Binnerscot]

3 of them are sort of glorified, modded Marshall offshoots, aren't they? The Mesa is the only one that sounds different.

I can see that perspective in some respects. My take:

5150 = obtainable high gain based on a legacy of playing Plexis, add a few years of Soldano play time, and given as input to the design
Dual Rec = straight Soldano preamp and Mesa magic in the power section, Mesa low mids of a Mark 1
Ecstasy = just f'ing magic, not sure how much Marshall DNA is left in some of Bogner's monsters like this one
VH4 = tech beast with a modern, precise flavor in the realm of Engl and VHT Pitbulls, maybe the least Marshall flavored of the bunch?

 

[Coma]

I would say the 900 is more "infamous" than "iconic", personally.

Which is hilarious, given today's propensity towards modelers or worse yet, insisting on using a tube amp but then stacking 15 different first pedals in front.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Which is hilarious, given today's propensity towards modelers or worse yet, insisting on using a tube amp but then stacking 15 different first pedals in front.

The fact that it has some diode clipping inside is part of why people hate on it.

The other part is some of the most common models don't sound all that great. At least to me. And to many others, I suppose.

 

[jeremy]

many of the jcm900 models sound fine once you really open em up, but many are fizzy at lower volumes. they can be very good amps

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Yeah, I don't mean to bad mouth them if you actually like them. They're just not my thing. And I'm sure many people feel like that as well.

As far as I'm aware, the SL-X's are the ones to have. I've only played the Dual Reverb, and yeah, not my thing. I think those are the most common ones, no? At least, that's the one they decided to reissue.

 

[jeremy]

the dual reverbs were probably the most common, and my least favorite. they could still sound good though. the mk iii and slx amps sounded better to my ears

 

[Coma]

The fact that it has some diode clipping inside is part of why people hate on it.

Precisely. But non-tube clipping is also what happens inside pedals, and the general consensus around those seem to be "ZOMG totes awesome".

To be fair, the general antipathy towards the 900 series was a few years ago. The pedal hype cycle came later.

many of the jcm900 models sound fine once you really open em up, but many are fizzy at lower volumes. they can be very good amps

Sure, but so are most tube amps. Especially the higher wattage ones. Including most of not all of its contemporaries from the early 90's.